Follow Me Home
by KatBauer
Summary: "Sometimes people can surprise you, if you give them a chance." [Roommates AU]
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure about this?"

"For the hundredth time, Coulson, yes, I'm sure," Skye said as she made a big ball with some shirts and socks and haphazardly stuffed it into a big duffel bag.

"What's wrong with this place? It's really... nice," Coulson offered, rather unconvincingly.

"Well, I would like to have my own kitchen, for starters."

"You do have a kitchen," he said with a confused frown.

"That I have to share with like ten other people," Skye rolled her eyes. "I'm not into the whole sharing spaces thing, you know that."

"What do you even need a kitchen for," Coulson insisted, ignoring Skye's offended noise of protest at the obvious implication. "You don't like to cook..."

"Coulson," Skye stopped him before he could say another word. "I need my own place. Don't get me wrong," she quickly added when she spotted his slightly hurt look. "I like the dorms and I'm grateful to you and SHIELD for putting a roof, a real roof, over my head, but it's time I move into my own apartment."

Coulson watched helplessly as Skye finished packing what was left of her things in one last box and then closed it, securing it with duct tape.

"Besides, if things go wrong, I can always rent the extra room."

"I thought you said you didn't like sharing," Coulson pointed out, unsure of how to feel about this new bit of information.

"No, I said I didn't like sharing _with ten other people_," Skye clarified. "Seriously, Coulson, it's going to be okay. I've lived on my own before."

"I know," Coulson replied with a defeated sigh. "Call me if you need anything, okay?"

"Yes, _dad_," Skye said without thinking as she slung the bag over her shoulder and then turned around to pick up one of the two boxes.

Coulson knew it was meant to be mockingly, but still, he couldn't help the fond smile that formed on his lips. "Need help with that?" he asked, and without waiting for an answer, he took the other box and followed Skye down the stairs and to the street, where her van was parked.

"When are you going to get rid of this thing?" Coulson asked, glaring disapprovingly at the van at the same time he carefully deposited the box in the back. "Does it even meet the basic safety requirements?"

"This _thing_ is my first house," Skye said, sliding the door shut and patting it affectionately. "And she's not going anywhere."

Coulson opened his mouth to start protesting again, but Skye enveloped him in a fierce embrace, and he was left momentarily speechless, taking him a second to return the hug.

"Take care, please," he said when he pulled back and released her. "You have my number, so use it. Whatever you need, no matter the time."

Skye chuckled. "Yes, sir," she said with a grin before adding softly, "Thank you, for everything. I'll see you on Monday."

**xxx**

"This does not look good," Coulson said from where he was standing in the middle of the living room.

"You think?" came Ward's voice as he walked out of his room carrying a bucket filled with water and a bunch of dripping wet clothes hanging from his arm.

"What happened?"

"I found it like this when I got back this morning," Ward explained as he emptied the bucket in the kitchen sink after tossing the wet clothes into a laundry basket. Water droplets flew everywhere, but given the current situation in which his apartment was in, it really didn't make any difference. "A pipe must've broken while I was gone."

"You can't stay here," Coulson said as he looked around. Things weren't looking too bad in the living room area, but both the bathroom and the bedroom were completely flooded, not to mention that the bed and the mattress were absolutely ruined and ready to be thrown away.

"Not a lot of choices, Coulson," Ward said as he walked past him, the wet soles of his black rubber rain boots squeaking against the linoleum floor.

"My couch is free," Coulson offered. "And dry," he murmued to himself, glancing over at Ward's couch and wincing involuntarily at its deplorable state.

Ward stopped on his way back to his bedroom. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not. I'm offering," Coulson replied with a smile. "It's the least I can do."

Ward hesitated, the now empty bucket clutched tightly in his hands.

Sure, he hadn't exactly spent a lot of time in the apartment. When he wasn't being shipped off to a remote location somewhere in Europe, he was on an undercover op, and if not, he was neck deep in paperwork back at his office in SHIELD HQ. But it was still _his_ place, and he had owned it for almost five years now.

He wasn't a man with a tendency to form attachments, not to people and especially not to places and things, but seeing his apartment, along with his belongings, half under water and most of it completely ruined, was something he was not prepared for, at all.

"Ward?" Coulson called softly, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, okay," Ward finally conceded, but not without certain reluctance. "I'll get whatever's still dry and meet you downstairs."

Coulson silently nodded in agreement and headed for the door, Ward's voice stopping him just as he was about to leave.

"Thank you," Ward said awkwardly, but with sincerity.

Coulson smiled fondly at him. "I'll be waiting in the car."

Ward gave him a court nod in response before disappearing into his room, a tiny smile tugging at the corners of his lips as he began to pack whatever clothes he could find that were still dry.


	2. Chapter 2

Ward folded the newspaper and leaned back on the couch, bringing the mug of coffee up to his lips to take a small, slow sip. His eyes remained glued to the small section he had circled in red pen, glaring at it as if the paper had wronged him somehow.

It's not like he had another choice, really.

Fixing the entire plumbing system in his apartment would take approximately a month or so, since the damage was far worse than he had first anticipated, and until then, he was forced to find another place to stay.

Coulson had insisted that he didn't mind having Ward around, but even if Ward himself didn't feel slightly uncomfortable and awkward sleeping on his SO's couch, the place was not designed for two people to live in it.

He had briefly entertained the possibility of staying at a hotel, which would have been extremely convenient if it hadn't been for the fact that the nearest one was a two hour drive away from SHIELD HQ, instantly ruling it out as a viable option.

He did consider himself to be adaptable no matter the circumstances, but waking up at four in the morning just to be able to get to work in time, was a bit excessive even for him.

So after assessing his current situation, the only logical, plausible solution to his problem was to find and rent another apartment.

Except that there were none available.

Ward sighed, running a hand over his tired face and through his hair as he set the mug down on the table and grabbed the newspaper once again. Just when he had thought there was no way out of this, a small ad had called his attention.

Someone with an extra room was looking for a roommate, and it just so happened that this person lived in his neighborhood, only a few blocks away from his place. Of course the prospect of sharing an apartment with a random stranger was far less than ideal, but giving the circumstances, he was in no position to be picky about it.

He had marked the ad, memorized the phone number and after giving it a fair amount of thought, he had finally made up his mind.

Ward was surprised, to say the least, when the person who picked up the phone turned out to be a woman. He frowned, not entirely sure about how he was supposed to feel about this new development, or the possibility of sharing a place with a woman, for that matter.

She, on the other hand, seemed less than fazed about the prospect of her future roommate being a guy and more in a hurry to get this over with. She gave him the address to a bar where they would meet the following day, excused herself saying she was in the middle of a meeting, and then hung up.

Ward stared at the screen of his phone, the look on his face sitting somewhere between mildly irritated and barely (_just barely_) intrigued.

"Did you find anything?" Coulson's voice interrupted his train of thought as he walked into the living room, watching with contained curiosity the newspaper Ward was still holding in his hand.

"Yeah, I think so," Ward replied vaguely, not wanting to give him too many details just in case things didn't work out as planned.

"You know this is not necessary," Coulson said. "I'm leaving in just a few days, you are more than welcome to stay here."

Ward shook his head as he stood up, tucking the newspaper under his arm as he made his way to the small kitchen. "I appreciate it, Coulson," he said. "But I can't."

Coulson nodded and dropped the subject at once, not asking for any further explanations. Knowing Ward for as long as he had, he didn't need to.

**xxx**

"So where exactly are they sending you this time?" Skye asked, eyeing Coulson with curiosity as they sat down to eat lunch at one of the tables in the SHIELD cafeteria. "Somewhere cold?"

But when she was met with nothing but silence and a tiny smirk on Coulson's face that gave absolutely nothing away, instead of admitting defeat, Skye took it as a challenge.

"Somewhere hot, then," she guessed. "The beach? Maybe Tahiti?"

"Why would they send me to Tahiti?" Coulson asked with amusement that quickly turn into disapproval as he watched Skye unwrap her greasy cheeseburger.

Skye shrugged, taking a bite and swallowing before answering. "Why _wouldn't_ they? You've been pretty much everywhere."

"Location is classified," Coulson replied, his answer earning him an eye roll from Skye.

"Can you at least tell me when you're coming back?"

"In four weeks, give or take."

"And they just couldn't send someone else?" Skye muttered, dipping a french fry in ketchup a bit too aggressively.

Even though she had only known Coulson for about eight months, Skye had already grown attached to the man. He was not just her boss, he was also the only person who had been willing to give her a second chance in life, and the closest thing to a father she had ever had.

"I don't suppose calling you is an option," she said, her words coming out as more of a statement than as a question.

She may still be a rookie, but she already had a pretty good idea of how SHIELD worked, and the thought of having to spend an entire month without knowing if Coulson was okay and unable to call him to check, did not sit well with her for many, many reasons.

Coulson shook his head but stayed silent otherwise, knowing he couldn't give her anymore information, no matter how much he wanted to.

"I figured that much," Skye nodded sadly. She made a pause, suddenly remembering something, and then tilted her head, a fry suspended in mid-air. "Is agent Ward going with you?"

"No," Coulson replied, wondering why she had brought him up out of the blue. "He's been working on a different assignment."

Skye waited for Coulson to elaborate more on that, eyebrows raised expectantly at him, until he finally added, "He was on a deep undercover op in Russia."

"For how long?"

"Sixteen months."

"Sixteen months?! _Wow,_" Skye huffed in surprise. "How does he pull it off?"

"It's his job. What he was trained to do."

"Yeah, but still... Spending over a year basically lying to everyone about everything?" Skye shook her head in disbelief.

"You don't tell people who you work for," Coulson pointed out.

"Because I choose not to," Skye clarified. "But at least I give them my real name. And how come I've never met this agent Ward? You're his SO, right? Whatever that means."

"Supervising officer," Coulson answered with patience. "He was shipped off to Russia long before you and I met. You will get the chance soon, don't worry," he finished with a teasing smirk, knowing very well what Skye's thoughts on him were.

"No, thanks," Skye was quick to reply, making a mildly disgusted face. "I don't think we would like eachother very much."

"Sometimes people can surprise you," Coulson commented with a knowing smile while Skye gave him a look of sheer skepticism. "If you give them a chance."


	3. Chapter 3

When Ward walked into the bar the following day, for some inexplicable reason, his eyes immediately landed on the girl sitting in one of the booths by the window, and he just _knew_ it had to be her.

She was doing something on her phone, eyebrows knitted together in concentration while typing on the screen a mile a minute. Her hair was falling down her shoulders in long, loose strands that caught the sunlight coming through the window, giving her a golden glow that had him staring unabashedly at her, completely mesmerized.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he walked over to her and gave a little cough to attract her attention, a sheepish smile forming on his lips when a pair of big, dark brown eyes looked up at him with curiosity.

"You put an ad on the newspaper looking for a roommate?" he asked, and when she nodded, he added, "We talked on the phone yesterday."

Her eyes widened a fraction in recognition. "I'm Skye," she said with a smile, holding out her hand.

"Grant," he said, blinking in surprise when his real name came tumbling out of his mouth. He had planned on giving her a fake one, seeing as this arrangement was not going to last for more than a few weeks or so, but his plan seemed to have come crashing down the moment he laid eyes on her.

Skye didn't miss the way his gaze flickered down to her outstretched hand and then back up to meet her eyes again before taking it and shaking it. Just like she didn't miss the way the simple contact sent a shiver down her spine, and simultaneously made him grip her hand just that tiny bit tighter.

"So," Skye started as he sat down in front of her, while she discreetly rubbed her palm against her jean clad thigh in an attempt to get rid of the tingling sensation his touch had left on her skin. "Let's start with the basics, if you don't mind me asking a few questions?"

He shook his head no. "Go ahead."

"What do you do for a living?"

"I work for an international private security company. I-" he made a small pause, trying to find the right words to say. "I travel a lot, and I only get a few weeks off in between jobs."

"Is that why you're looking for a roommate?"

"I'm not," he said earnestly, causing Skye to raise her eyebrows in silent questioning. "Several pipes broke down in my apartment, and the entire place is flooded. I just need somewhere to stay for a few weeks until it's fixed."

"That sucks," Skye said sympathetically. "Where are you staying now?"

"With a friend," he said. "But his apartment is not big enough for the two of us."

Skye bit her lip, watching him. She was well aware that his answers were being vague at best, and that it should raise about half a dozen red flags, but there was just something about this guy that made her trust him. Her gut kept telling her that he wasn't going to hurt her, and so far, her gut had proven to (almost) always be right.

"What about you?" he asked, interrupting her thoughts. "What do you do?"

"I work with computers," she said dismissively, too used to people losing all interest the moment she brought it up. But his eyes were fixed on her, and he was clearly waiting for her to say something else. "I mostly just deal with firewalls and data encryption."

He smiled knowingly. "Risk assessment and defense planning?"

"Yeah, that's how AC calls it!"

"AC?"

"My boss," Skye explained, ducking her head when she felt her cheeks begin to burn.

Ward watched her with a mix of interest and fascination. The way she had blushed, giving away her embarrassment, didn't go unnoticed and he found himself wondering how would it feel to just reach across the table and trace the tips of his fingers over her warm, rosy cheeks...

Clearing his throat, he sat up straighter and forced himself to push his thoughts aside, locking them in a box in the furthest corner of his mind.

"Do you want something to drink?" he asked as he called the waitress over, needing something to distract himself with.

"I could use some hot chocolate," she answered.

The corners of his lips quirked up in a tiny smirk, and she grinned at him as he ordered a hot chocolate for her and coffee for himself.

"Morning person or night owl?" Skye asked once the waitress was gone.

"I'm up every day at five thirty," he replied, unable to hold back a smile when she made a distressed little sound. "I take it you're the night owl type?"

"I'm used to being up all night," she explained, but the way she tensed while avoiding his eyes, instantly got Ward's attention. He realized right away that this was more than just a random habit.

Still, even though his curiosity had been piqued, he knew he was in no position to push for any details, so he simply nodded in acknowledgment and let it slide, filing the information away for later.

"So, Skye," he said, enjoying the way her name just rolled off his tongue. "No last name?"

And there it was again, the sudden tension in her body, only this time it was accompanied by something else in her brown eyes, something that made them look even darker, but Ward couldn't for the life of him pinpoint exactly _what _it was.

"Just Skye." She recovered quickly though, and arching an eyebrow, she asked, "So, _Grant_. No last name?" throwing his question back at him.

He chuckled. "Douglas."

She squinted at him with something akin to suspicion, and just when Ward was starting to think that she might be onto him, the waitress came back with their drinks and Skye got momentarily distracted from whatever it was that she had been thinking only a few seconds ago.

After taking a sip, savoring the hot beverage, Skye raised her eyes to meet his again. "When do you want to move in?"

Ward blinked, bewildered. "Shouldn't you think this through?" he asked. "Evaluate the pros and cons before making a final decision?"

Skye rolled her eyes. "You sound like my boss," she scoffed. "You're _good_," she said, and the conviction with which she said those words made something inside him squirm unpleasantly. "I don't know why or how, but I know I can trust you."

He was about to protest, to point out that this was not how things were supposed to work, and that she should not make a decision based on an impulse and a gut feeling, but then she smiled at him, bright and warm and infectious, and he was _lost_.

He opened his mouth, and then closed it again, vaguely registering in the back of his mind that he was probably looking like an idiot right then, but he didn't seem to find it in himself to care.

"Tomorrow?" he finally managed to blurt out.

"Sure," she answered, completely oblivious to the havoc she had just wreaked. "I'm going home after we're done here, so if you want to check out the place before moving in, feel free to tag along."

He gladly took the offer, and after paying for their drinks, he walked with her the few blocks that separated the bar from her apartment. She talked all the way there, telling him all about her neighbors while making jokes, and he remained silent, taking the opportunity to study her and make mental notes about her behavior.

In just seven blocks he discovered that she wore her heart on her sleeve and used her humor to hide her insecurities and her awkwardness, and that the more awkward things got, the more jokes she would crack until she would begin to rant. Still, except for the tiny gaps of information he would occasionally run into during their conversation, she was pretty much an open book.

But if anything, it made him find her all the more fascinating and feel himself even more drawn to her, two things he hadn't felt about anyone in a very long time.

**xxx**

It was almost midnight when, after taking the last book out of a cardboard box, Ward placed it on one of the shelves fixed on the wall, and then took a step backwards to admire the result. After spending the entire day packing his belongings and then unpacking them and putting each thing in its correspondent place, he was exhausted but content.

He had only been in Skye's apartment (_their_ apartment, he reminded himself) for less than twenty four hours and he was already strangely fond of the place, though that probably had a lot more to do with Skye herself than with anything else.

The apartment was not what he had expected it to be, at all. It was big enough for two people to share, but at the same time, still small enough to feel cozy and welcoming. Skye had spent a fair amount of time decorating the place (she had told him all about it) and he had to admire what she had done with it. Sure, there was the occasional random cat figurine here and there, along with some signed Captain America posters (he briefly wondered how she'd get those), but those were the small details that made it more _homey_ (Skye's word, not his).

A soft knock on his door pulled him back to reality, and he turned around to find Skye leaning against the doorframe. "It looks nice," she commented appreciatively, sweeping her eyes around the room. "Are you done?"

Ward nodded as he moved to the bed and began to break down the cardboard boxes so he could throw them away later. "This was the last one," he said.

"Good. Dinner's on me tonight," Skye said, and when he looked up at her, she grinned. "Consider it your welcome gift."

"You're buying me pizza as a present?"

"I could give you a potted plant," she shrugged. "But I think you'd enjoy the pizza a lot more."

And with that, she was gone, leaving Ward shaking his head and wondering just what had he gotten himself into.


	4. Chapter 4

Walking out of the kitchen, Skye was humming softly thinking about the code she had been working on all day, when she walked past the living room and past a seemingly very busy Ward, who was sitting on the couch with his laptop.

Skye glanced at him distractedly, and then abruptly stopped on her tracks. She walked backwards a few steps and, peering down at his screen from behind his shoulder, she said with faked indignation, "Please tell me you're not playing chess with your computer."

Ward, who had been aware of every single one of her movements, didn't even flinch when he heard her voice practically in his ear.

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah," Skye scoffed. "Do I need to remind you that you have a roommate now?"

"I didn't know you liked board games."

"Have you _seen_ the bookcase in the hallway?" Skye asked, eyebrows raised.

"What about it?"

"Second shelf from the bottom," Skye replied, clearly expecting him to know exactly what she was talking about. Which, of course, he didn't. "Oh my god, there are like ten boxes of board games in there! How did you not see them?"

"I don't go through other people's things, Skye."

"It's _in the hallway_," Skye said, stressing each word. "Don't worry about invading my privacy, there's nothing there that I wouldn't want you to see." She made a pause, and then whispered conspiratorially, "I keep the alien artifacts safely hidden under my bed."

Ward blinked up at her, and for a split second, the SHIELD agent in him kicked in and he wondered whether she was being serious or if she was just messing with him. After all, it wouldn't be the first time someone thought hiding alien tech under their bed was a good idea. But judging by the face-splitting smile Skye was currently sporting, he quickly decided that she was just joking.

"So what's your favorite?" Skye asked.

"My favorite what?"

"Board game, Grant."

"Battleship," he replied without even thinking.

"Well, you're in luck. I have that one," she said with an excited grin. "Wanna play?"

"What, now?"

Skye nodded, and before he could say anything else, she disappeared down the hall, returning two minutes later with a small box in her hands. She tossed the box at him, and while Ward opened it and inspected the game, Skye took a seat on the armchair on his left.

"AC and I used to have game nights every week," Skye told him, and the quiet tone of her voice had Ward looking up from the game, his brow furrowing in concern. "He's too busy now," she added with a shrug that tried, and failed, to be nonchalant.

Ward studied her for a moment. She was biting down on her bottom lip, her fingers toying with the hem of her deep purple sweater and her legs tucked under her, and it hit him just how _tiny_ and vulnerable she seemed right then. The faint, yet visible dark circles under her eyes that betrayed the lack of sleep, made her look even more fragile.

"We can have game nights, if you want." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, but the way Skye's face instantly lit up, made him think that it had been the right thing to say after all.

"I'd like that," she beamed. "But fair warning. I'm really good at battleship, like, _weirdly_ good."

Ward gave her his best unimpressed look. "We'll see."

But exactly twenty one minutes later, Ward was groaning in utter frustration while Skye hit the right target square _yet again_, having systematically destroyed every single one of his ships in what he was sure it had to be record time.

"Come on, say it," Skye smirked, reaching over to poke his bicep.

Ward swatted her hand away halfheartedly and glared at her, pursing his lips.

"Grant. Just s_ay it_."

"You sank my battleship," he muttered, rolling his eyes when Skye began to cheer.

**xxx**

"What are you doing up so early?" Ward asked that morning when he entered the living room and found Skye lying on the couch with her computer on her stomach.

She looked up at him with bleary eyes, and opened her mouth to answer, but all that came out was a big yawn.

"You stayed up all night again, didn't you," Ward said, shaking his head disapprovingly.

He knew Skye liked to pull all nighters once she got 'her mojo going' (whatever that was supposed to mean) because apparently sleep was for the weak, but that didn't mean Ward enjoyed watching her work herself into the ground and then act like a walking undead the following day.

"I'm almost done," Skye said, rubbing her eyes with the back of her hand.

Still, Ward knew better than to voice his concern. "I'm going to make breakfast," he said.

"Pancakes?" Skye asked hopefully.

"That depends," he said thoughtfully. Placing his hands on the back of the couch, he leaned down. "I'll make you pancakes if you promise to get some sleep."

Skye's eyes narrowed at him. "Why do you care if I sleep or not?"

Her slightly irritated tone caught Ward off guard, and he instantly straightened up, arms folding across his chest as he stared down at her. "If you end up passing out in the middle of the living room, I am not carrying you to your bed."

"I'm not going to pass out, Grant," Skye said, sitting up and shutting down her computer. "I told you I'm used to staying up all night."

She stood up and after stretching a bit to soothe her stiffened muscles, she made her way to the kitchen, reaching into the cabinet to get her mug. Just when she was about to go for the coffee, Ward, having followed her in silence, gently grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"What?" Skye snapped at him.

"That won't help, Skye," he said softly.

Skye frowned, but she was suddenly too distracted by the way his thumb was rubbing soothing circles on the inside of her wrist to actually get mad at him.

Clearing her throat, she pulled her hand from his grasp and took a step back and away from the coffee. And from him. "Are you going to fight me over coffee, too?" she asked.

He didn't miss the way she'd discreetly moved away from him, and he mentally berated himself for slipping. The last thing he wanted was to overstep any boundaries and ruin things between them, especially when they had only been living together for a little over a week.

"No," he replied, moving to the fridge to grab the milk. He poured some into her mug and then put it in the microwave, extremely aware of the way Skye's eyes were following his every move. When the microwave beeped and the milk was warm enough, he added two spoons of honey and a pinch of cinnamon, and then offered it to her.

Skye took it, eyeing the content of the mug warily before taking a tentative sip.

"Good?" Ward asked, biting back a smile when Skye's eyes widened.

"Not bad," she replied noncommittally, hopping onto the counter.

"You know," Ward said as he began to pull out the ingredients he'd need to make the pancakes. "You forgot to mention how irritable you get when you haven't slept."

"Sorry," Skye said quietly.

"It's fine," he answered. "We haven't known eachother for long, but I do care."

"Thank you," Skye said after a pause, and Ward knew she wasn't just thanking him for the milk. "When you grow up alone, you get used to people not caring, so... I'm still working on that."

Her words took him by surprise. He wanted to ask what exactly did she mean by that, but he didn't want to force her to talk about something that clearly made her uncomfortable. Still, he couldn't help himself.

"Where did you grow up?"

"Texas. You?"

"Massachusetts, mostly. A house?"

Skye squirmed and gripped her mug a bit tighter. "One house, the Brodys."

She made a pause, taking another sip of the milk, and Ward waited, busying himself mixing the ingredients. After a few minutes in silence and just when he was about to pour the batter into the pan, Skye said. "I was nine, they sent me back to Saint Agnes after a month."

"Foster parents," Ward breathed, realization dawning on him. "Your first?"

"My third," Skye replied, looking away.

It was on the tip of his tongue to say he was sorry, but he thought better of it, figuring she had probably heard that one a hundred times before. So instead, he flipped the pancakes and simply said, "Their loss."

Skye's head snapped up and she gave him an undecipherable look before hopping off the counter, a bitter smile forming on her lips. "Yeah, well, tell that to the other six families who also sent me back."

"Skye..."

"It's fine, Grant, really," she said, running a hand through her hair. "I'm- I tend to over share when I'm sleep deprived, sorry."

"Hey," he said softly, closing the small distance between them and gingerly tilting her chin up so she couldn't avoid his eyes this time. "It's okay, we're okay. I want to be your friend, Skye, not just your roommate. So over sharing is encouraged," he said with a reassuring smile.

"You do know it goes both ways, right," Skye said.

"I'll get there eventually," he replied. "Give me some time."

Skye bit her lip, and be it because she was too tired to care or because she really needed it (or maybe both), she suddenly wrapped her arms around Ward's middle and hugged him tightly, burying her face in his chest.

It took Ward a second to fully comprehend what had just happened, but when he heard Skye's soft sniffle, he slowly slid an arm around her waist, his other hand tangling in her hair and cradling the back of her head, holding her protectively against him.

They stood there for a long moment, until Skye finally pulled back, her cheeks tinted with a rosy blush and her eyes bright with _something_ that took Ward's breath away.

"So," she said, looking at the counter behind him. "Are the pancakes ready?"

Pancakes. Right.


	5. Chapter 5

The first thing Ward noticed when he came back from his run that afternoon, was how unusually cold the apartment was. Closing and locking the door behind him, he looked around, figuring that Skye had maybe forgotten a window (or two) open, so when he spotted her curled up on the couch with her computer, he immediately knew something was off.

"Skye?" he called as he approached her. "Is everything okay?"

"The heat's not working," came Skye's muffled reply, and he had to stifle a laugh when he finally saw her. She had about three of the thickest, fluffiest blankets he'd seen wrapped around her body, making her look like a black and purple burrito, and he briefly wondered how on earth was she still able to use her laptop like that.

Skye blinked up at him, and then let out a disbelieving huff. "You went for a run? Isn't it snowing outside?"

"It's fine," he said dismissively, more concerned about the heat being broken than the weather outside. "Did you call the landlord?"

"He's out of town until Wednesday," Skye said with a dramatic pout. "And since it's Sunday, we're basically screwed until tomorrow," she added, burying herself deeper under the pile of blankets, her computer balancing precariously on her knees.

Ward frowned, running a hand through his slightly damped hair. There wasn't anything he could do to fix the problem, and even though he wasn't all that bothered by the cold, he knew Skye would not be happy for the remaining of the night.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said after a moment. "And you may want to consider moving to the kitchen. Smaller place, easier to heat if you turn on the stove or the oven."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Skye asked hesitatingly.

"It should be fine," Ward smirked, and then added, "Just try not to set the place on fire," chuckling when Skye let out an indignant little sound and threw a cushion at him.

**xxx**

By the time Ward was done, Skye had taken his advice and temporarily abandoned her blanket nest in favor of the kitchen. She had turned on the stove and made tea, something that immediately caught Ward's attention.

"You don't drink tea," he pointed out, leaning against the door frame with his tablet in hand, and watching with a frown as she dumped about six spoons of sugar into a mug.

Skye grimaced. "People drink this to get warm, so what the hell."

Looking up at him, her eyebrows shot up in surprise when she saw that he was wearing just a shirt and sweat pants. "_How_ are you not freezing?" she asked, horrified.

"It's not that bad," he answered. "And I've been to colder places."

"Such as...?" Skye prompted with interest, taking the mug of tea in her hands and bringing it up to her lips to take a small sip, scrunching up her nose when she burned her tongue.

Leaving his tablet on the small kitchen table next to Skye's computer, Ward walked over to the cabinet above the sink and took another mug, pouring himself some tea and taking his time before finally answering.

"Europe, Canada, Wyoming."

"One of those is not like the others," Skye commented, tilting her head a little to the side. "Care to elaborate?"

"Not really."

Skye opened her mouth to prod him further, but one look at his face had her next question dying on her lips. There was some sort of dark sadness swirling in his eyes, and the way his jaw was clenched was a clear sign that whatever was going through his mind at the moment, was far from pleasant.

She decided to end their conversation there, for his sake, and silently sat down at the small table, opening her laptop and immersing herself back in her work.

Reaching forward, Ward took his tablet and leaned back against the counter as he slowly sipped his tea, enjoying the soft heat radiating off the stove.

He was thankful for the fact that Skye had stopped asking questions about his life. He didn't want to have to lie to her, but he was afraid the truth was not something she would like to hear.

**xxx**

It had been barely over an hour since Skye had said goodnight to Ward and gone to bed, but try as she might, she had only managed to get about twenty minutes of sleep before she had woken up with her teeth chattering and her hands and feet feeling as cold as ice.

Throwing the covers aside with an irritated groan, she got out of bed and made her way to the kitchen, figuring that maybe she could make herself some more tea to try and warm up again.

When she reached the living room, though, she stopped abruptly. Ward was still awake, sitting on the couch and surrounded by blankets, his eyes glued to his tablet. A quick glance at the clock on the wall told her it was a little past two in the morning.

"Skye?"

Ward's voice snapped her attention back to him, and she offered him an sheepish smile as she walked over to the couch. "What are you doing still up?" she asked, her arms moving to hug her torso when a shiver ran down her back.

"I couldn't sleep," he replied, his eyes scanning her face with concern. "You should go back to bed, Skye."

Skye shook her head stubbornly. "S'too cold in there."

Letting out a small, almost exasperated sigh, Ward grabbed one of the blankets from the couch and stood up, wrapping it tightly around Skye. He placed a hand on the small of her back and gently nudged her towards the couch, tugging on the blanket to make her sit down with him.

But whatever Skye was expecting, it was certainly not for him to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her against his side while throwing another two blankets over them. When he began to rub her arm, Skye snuggled further into him and let out a content little hum, one that made Ward's lips twitch in amusement.

"You know, you're abnormally warm considering how freaking cold this place is," Skye commented, absentmindedly rubbing the tip of her nose against her palm, trying to get rid of the cold sensation.

"I've seen worse," he replied distractedly, his focus back on whatever it was that he had been reading before on his tablet.

"Wyoming?" Skye asked, biting her lip when she felt him tense. She looked up at him then, and found him staring down intently at her, his eyes searching her face for something.

"Why are you asking about that?"

"Because I want to know more about you," Skye admitted softly. "And for some reason, that seems like a good place to start."

Ward pursed his lips and his discomfort was so evident that Skye was about to apologize and tell him to just forget she'd ever brought it up, when he finally spoke again.

"I lived there, and winter was... rough."

"You said you grew up in Massachusetts," Skye said, remembering their conversation from a few days back. "Did you move to Wyoming because of your job?"

"No." He looked down at Skye again, whose big brown eyes were staring up at him almost as if she _knew_ something was not right, and without even meaning to, he found himself blurting out the truth.

"I was fifteen. I was going through a rough stretch, and I met- I met someone. He got me out of the hell I was living in, and gave me a second chance." He made a pause and then bitterly added, "Or what I thought was a second chance."

"But it wasn't," Skye whispered.

Ward shook his head sadly. "I ended up spending about six months in the woods, by myself."

"What about your parents?"

"They were worse."

Silence fell upon them after that, and Ward didn't dare to move, didn't dare to meet Skye's eyes, suddenly too afraid of what he would see if he did. But she was still there, and she hadn't pulled away, so maybe...

He looked down, and once again found her dark eyes watching him with such intensity that his breath caught in his throat. It was not pity what he saw in them, but rather sympathy, and something akin to understanding.

"I'm sorry," she apologized quietly. "I didn't mean to push."

He nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"I lived in a van for two years before I met AC," Skye said, breaking the silence, and Ward's eyes widened just a fraction in shock. "He gave me a second chance when no one else would. So I know what it's like to not have anyone in your corner, to be alone. But you're not, Grant. Not anymore, at least."

Ward was stunned.

Here he was, telling her about a part of his past that was unsettling to say the least, and yet this tiny slip of a girl hadn't even bat an eyelash. Not only that, she was actually trying to comfort him, and she was succeeding in a way no one had before.

"It's late," he murmured, his voice thick with emotion. "You should try to get some sleep."

"Do you mind if I stay?"

Ward swallowed hard. He knew he should tell her to go back to her room, or excuse himself and leave. Pull himself together, put some distance between them and end this (whatever _this_ was) before it got out of hand.

But the more he thought about how he shouldn't want her to stay tucked into his side, her body warm against his and her fingers now curled into the front of his shirt, the more he began to realize that it was already too late.

While a hundred contradicting thoughts were racing through his head, Skye's breathing slowly evened out and her grip on him loosened as she drifted off to sleep, her head resting comfortably against his shoulder.

And somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew he had lost the battle.


	6. Chapter 6

Skye stretched lazily under the covers, squinting at the sunlight filtering through the curtains of her room. One look at her phone told her it was well past nine in the morning, but seeing as she had the day off, she didn't mind having slept in. In fact, she welcomed it. She hadn't slept that well in what it felt like ages.

Throwing the covers aside, she got out of bed and quietly padded down the hall and to the kitchen, rubbing the sleep off her eyes with her hand.

When she reached the empty kitchen, she stood at the door and blinked. The apartment was quiet, far too quiet for a Friday morning. Something, or rather, _someone_ was missing.

After three weeks of living with Ward, Skye had his morning routine completely memorized. It hadn't been too hard, since he had followed it religiously every single day since moving in.

Skye mentally went through his activities. He would get up at five thirty sharp, brush his teeth, do his mandatory workout, finish somewhere around six thirty, and then he would take a shower, ending his morning routine with breakfast at seven.

She knew he had about a month off of work (he had told her that), but that he had to check in with his office every Friday morning at eight, for reasons he had not exactly shared with her and that she had not asked about, not wanting to look like she was prying. But other than that, unless he had very specific plans, he would stay home working on his tablet or on his computer, if there was something that needed to be done.

Skye frowned. It was nine thirty and Ward was nowhere to be seen, and that was slightly concerning. If there was one thing she knew about him, was that he never, ever, missed a single activity on his daily morning routine.

He was as predictable as the sun rising in the East.

Turning on her heels, Skye marched back down the hall and sure enough, she found his door closed. She pressed an ear against it and narrowed her eyes, trying to hear something, anything. And then...

A sneeze.

Skye pulled back from the door with a barely stiffed giggle, but quickly sobered when she heard another sneeze, and another, followed by a coughing fit.

Knocking softly on the door, she called, "Grant? Are you okay in there?"

There was a pause, followed by the sound of slow, heavy steps, and then the door opened to reveal what was quite possibly the saddest scene she had ever seen.

Ward was still in his pajamas, a blanket draped over his shoulders and he was clutching a box of tissues in one hand. His eyes were glassy and the tip of his nose was red, and he was looking so miserable, it broke Skye's heart a little.

"Hey," he said, sniffling.

"You're sick," Skye stated.

"No, I'm not," was his automatic response, but somehow, Skye was not surprised. If anything, it was exactly what she had expected him to say. For some reason, she had a strong suspicion that he was not used to feeling, well, _vulnerable_, let alone let others know.

"Yes, you _are_," Skye insisted. She took a step forward and gently pressed her palm against his forehead, ignoring his protests and his weak attempt of swatting her hand away. "And you're burning up."

"I'm fine, Skye," he said, but Skye was no longer listening. She ushered him back to bed, and tucked him in, looking around the room as if searching for something.

"What?" he asked, mildly irritated.

"Have you been sick before?"

He hesitated. "Once."

Skye sighed. "Okay, here's the deal," Ward opened his mouth to interrupt her, but she held up a finger and he immediately fell silent. "And since I'm your roommate, it's my duty to make sure you don't die."

Ward actually managed to roll his eyes at that, but once again, Skye ignored him.

She gave him a sympathetic look and then patted his shoulder. "I'm going to get you some water, okay? And some tea, since you missed breakfast."

He gave her a questioning look, and she shrugged. "You weren't around when I woke up, and the place was really quiet, so I was kind of worried."

He blinked up at her, not really knowing what to say.

"Don't go anywhere," she warned. "I'll be right back."

**xxx**

Forty minutes later, Ward was sitting up in his bed, resting comfortably against four pillows, tucked under several blankets, with a bottle of water on his nightstand and a tray with tea and some crackers, since Skye wasn't sure if he was able to keep the food down and didn't want to take any chances.

She had given him some ibuprofen, and then disappeared for a few minutes, only to come back with her tablet in one hand and her own blanket.

"Scoot," she said.

"What?"

"Move over," she said, eyebrows raised.

"Why?"

"Seriously? Because you're sick and I'm not leaving you alone, that's why."

And for the second time that morning, Ward was left speechless. Only this time, there was also a lump in his throat that made it very difficult to swallow, and that had nothing to do with the flu.

"I don't want to get you sick, Skye," he said quietly.

Skye waved a hand dismissively and situated herself next to him, wiggling around a little until she was comfortable, thankful for the fact that his bed was big enough for the two of them to share without invading the other's personal space.

"Just keep your hands and your mouth where I can see them, and we should be fine," she said, realizing too late just how _wrong_ that sentence had come out. "I mean- Just stay over there, and- I'll stay over here, so-" she tried to backpedal, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Skye," Ward said, the corners of his mouth quirking up in an almost imperceptible smirk.

"Right, okay, I'm going to shut up now. And you need to get some sleep."

She took the tray away, setting it down on the furthest corner of the bed where neither her or Ward could accidentally knock it over, and then waited until he was lying down with his eyes closed to turn on her tablet. She had a few files to read, and since it was obvious that she was not going to be leaving the apartment that day, she might as well catch up on her work.

"Skye?" came Ward's hoarse voice, breaking the silence.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

**xxx**

Things went smoothly from there, since Ward's temperature was kept under control with several doses of ibuprofen, and other than a nasty headache and a sore throat, he seemed to be doing relatively okay.

Until night came, and everything went straight to hell.

His temperature began to rise at an alarming rate, sending Skye into a quasi panic attack,not knowing what to do. He was almost delirious with fever, and no matter how many cold compresses Skye applied to his forehead and neck, he only seemed to be getting worse.

He kept tossing and turning, unable to sleep and suffocating under all the blankets, so Skye had to remove a few and help him pull his shirt off.

She was about to place another cold washcloth on his forehead, when he caught her wrist in his hand, taking Skye completely by surprise and almost making her spill the cold water in the bowl she had on her lap.

"Hey, it's okay," she soothed. "It's me."

His grip on her wrist loosened considerably when he recognized her voice, and Skye placed a comforting hand on his chest, biting her lip when she felt his skin burning hot under her palm.

He blinked a few times, trying to focus his eyes on her, and before Skye could do or say anything, his hand cupped her cheek, his thumb slowly tracing her bottom lip, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Grant, what are you-"

"You are so beautiful," he murmured.

"Thank you, but that's the fever talking," Skye said, her fingers gently wrapping around his wrist as she tried to pull his hand away from her face, but then he made a tiny noise that sounded like a pleading whimper, and Skye froze.

"Don't go," he whispered. "Please don't leave."

"I'm not going anywhere," she said, taking his hand in hers and giving it a light squeeze.

"I'm- always alone," he mumbled. "No one's taken care of me before, but you- You are _good_."

"So are you, Grant," Skye replied when she saw the distressed look in his eyes.

"No," he whispered sadly. "I've done- things. Bad things. I'm- Not good. Not good enough for-"

By now Skye was absolutely sure he had completely lost it, and so she decided to do the only thing she had left to do. Drastic times call for drastic measures, right?

She fumbled desperately around the bed until she found her phone, and without letting go of Ward's hand, she hit number three on her speed dial.

She waited with bated breath, and sighed loudly with relief when someone on the other end finally picked up.

"Simmons? Oh, thank god. Yeah, I know it's late, I'm sorry. No, no, I'm fine, I-" she paused, her eyes meeting Ward's glazed over ones. "My- my friend, he needs help. Can you- No, he's my _roommate_, Simmons. Look, can you come over? He's delirious with fever, and I don't know what to do. _Please_."

**xxx**

When Ward woke up the following morning, he had no idea where he was or what time it was. The pounding in his head was killing him, and he felt kind of loopy and slightly dizzy.

It took him several minutes to put the pieces together and to finally remember what had happened the day before. Still, other than feeling like utter crap, everything that went down during the night was just am incomprehensible blur. He had a vague memory of Skye holding his hand and of someone else being in his room with them, but he had no idea who this person was or what they had been doing there.

Turning his head to the side, he was surprised to find Skye curled up next to him, face half obscured by the pillow and her fingers loosely curled around his.

He reached over to push some strands of hair out of her face, and quickly retreated his hand when he saw her eyes fluttering open.

"Morning," she mumbled sleepily. "How're you feeling?"

"Better," he replied. "Thank you."

"You scared the crap out of me last night," Skye said, her fingers suddenly tightening around his. "You were saying things- You weren't making sense."

"What- What did I say?"

"You said I was beautiful." She was just trying to get a reaction from him, but when she caught the worry in his eyes and the tiny frown on his forehead, she scooted just a bit closer and gave his fingers a soft, reassuring squeeze, not wanting him to feel bad over something he had had no control over. "You were delirious. You can totally blame it on the fever."

"Nah, that was all me," Ward said with a lopsided smile, his head falling back against the pillows. "You _are_ the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

"Grant Douglas, are you hitting on me?"

Ward chuckled and turned to look at her. She was smirking teasingly at him, but the way her cheeks were now tinted a faint pink clearly betrayed her. Releasing her fingers, he ran his knuckles across her warm cheek, and then tapped her nose with his index finger, causing Skye to scrunch up her face and his heart to melt a little.

"That depends. Is it working?"

"You're high on antibiotics," Skye said, moving to sit up and running a hand through her mussed hair. "I'll tell you what. You get better, and if you can still remember what you said, then maybe we can talk about it."

Ward hummed in agreement while Skye stood up and pulled the covers over him, the feeling of her fingers combing through his hair and her soft lips pressing a kiss to his forehead lulling him back to sleep.


End file.
